Striped Bass Fishing in the Spring

In the spring, water temperature is the main factor in determining
when and where the first striper of the season will be caught. The water temperature will
have to get to at least 44 degrees F.

Early Spring Stripers

Graveling Point

The following discussion is centered on a particular part of New Jersey. However,
similar places
and conditions exist at various places along the striper migration route (for example - the shores of Raritan Bay), during the spring with similar results for the fishing;
but maybe with timing shifted somewhat.

Graveling Point

Graveling Point is a point on the northern shore of Great Bay, in NJ. Great Bay is fed
by the Mullica River. There are shallow flats here, and there is a mud bottom. In the spring this
is where the water warms up first. Every year the first striped bass of the season is caught here.

A few sunny days in March will warm the dark mud bottom in these shallows. The worms
and other organisms will wake up and become active. As the tide moves in over these warm bottoms, the
water will warm. As it recedes with the falling tide, it will be a few degrees warmer than when it
came in. This warmer outgoing water, along with the new activity of its bottom dwellers, will attract
the stripers. Under these conditions, the first striped bass of the season will be caught. The water
temperature will have gotten to at least 44 degrees.

Berkley Gulp "Bloody" Sandworms

The bait will be bloodworms, Real or artificial Berkley Gulp, or clams, as there aren't many baitfish around this early in
the spring. The first stripers won't be large. They will be schoolies and holdovers that remained in
these or nearby locations through the winter.

Graveling point is located at the end of Radio Road in Mystic Island. Scott's Bait and
Tackle shop is located on this same road. Each year this shop provides a $100 prize to the fisherman
who catches the first keeper size striped bass of the season.

A short history showing when the first keeper striper of the year was caught at Graveling Point is provide by the table below.

First Spring Striper Caught at Graveling Point

Year

Date

Fisherman

Length, in.

Bait

2017

April 12

Vincan Kudirca

30

White Plastic Swim Shad (lure)

2016

March 12

Dylan O'Connell

29

Bloodworms

2015

April 14

Jake Adair

28¼

Clams

2014

April 19

Dave Curry

Clams

2013

March 13th

Vincan Kudirca

29

Bloodworms

2012

March 8th

Jack Ross

30

Blodworms

2011

March 13th

Tim McGeary

29

Bloodworms

2010

March 16th

Ken Smith

28½

Bloodworms

2009

March 26th

Dan Williamson

28¼+

2008

March 26th

Lenny Sankarik

29¼+

Bloodworms

2007

March 14th

Mike Barlow

29

Berley Gulp Bloodworms

2006

March 5th

Randy Sloan

30

2005

March 29th

Lenny Sankarik

27

Note: 1st striper - 2017

Donovan Vasquez caught a 9.4 lb, 30 in. striper in the Mullica River on Wed. March 1, 2017.

Dylan O'Connell - 2016

A little later, a herring run will occur in the Mullica River as "River Herring" go up
the river and its feeder streams to spawn. Larger migrating striped bass now come into the river chasing after the herring and doing their own spawning.
Fishermen will be catching the herring in some of the feeder streams and storing them in aerated containers.
These fishermen then liveline the herring in the river, and catch some of the stripers.
Note that there is presently a moratorium on catching river herring in some New England States.

Since 2012, fishing with river herring is also banned in NJ.

When the stripers come down out of the river some will stay in the back bays
for awhile, as the water will be warmer there.

Stripers will
begin feeding actively along the ocean beaches when the water temperature reaches 50 degrees.
There are not many baitfish along the beaches at this time of year, but there are plenty of clams.
So the bait of choice for the surf fishermen is clams, but fresh bunker chunks also work well when you can get them.

Late Spring NJ Stripers

Later in the spring, waves of larger striped bass that are migrating up the coast after spawning in the
Chesapeake and Delaware Bays arrive along the NJ coast. These can also be caught using clams or bunker chunks.

However the real excitement occurs when the migrating stripers encounter schools of live bunker
that invade NJ waters at these same times. The boat fishermen have a blast, and if winds push the bunker close
to the beach, the surf and jetty fishermen can catch large stripers also.

Snag and Drop, using bunker snagging rigs, is the most popular
technique used by both boat and surf fishermaen at these times, however stripers are also caught throwing
pencil poppers and swimming plugs.

A better way, used by most boat fishermen whose boats have live wells,
is to snag a dozen or so bunker and put them in their live wells. Then live line these on
separate rods, and using circle hooks
to catch the stripers. Follow this link to see Live Lining Bunker.

For the last couple of years the bunker schools have been large and numerous because of abundant
plankton, resulting in
some great striped bass fishing along the NJ coast in the late spring. The bunker hold the stripers, somewhat
delaying their further migration north.

Team Jersey Shore

Team Jersey Shore - 2011

Photo credit - On The Water Magazine

The On The Water Magazine runs a striped bass fishing tournament each year, called the Striper Cup, which
covers the coast from NJ to Maine and runs from May through September. There are categories for both individuals and teams. For each of the last few
years, a team from NJ has taken the early lead based on significant striped bass catches as the stripers pass
by NJ in the spring. However the catches by the NJ team were usually eclipsed by catches by more northern teams
later in the year.

2011 was different. Team Jersey Shore got an early lead in the spring, and held it
throughout the year. In 2011, Team Jersey Shore won the Team division of the
On The Water Magazine Striper Cup tournament.